Bulgaria has not changed its intention to join the euro zone but it does not expect to start specific talks for accession to the ERM-2 before the situation with the euro zone debt crises clears, according to Finance Minister Simeon Djankov.
"We are not going to start preliminary talks (on joining the euro) in the autumn. Our intentions (to join the euro) are not changed. However, a specific time is not fixed yet," Djankov told Reuters in an interview provided by the Bulgarian Finance...

A lawsuit has been filed by Russia's Atomstroyexport, a Rosatom subsidiary, demanding that Bulgaria's National Electric Company (NEK) pay EUR 58 M in arrears for works on the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant.
"As the Bulgarian company is facing hard times, at its request we granted it a delay in payment and agreed to a repayment schedule," an anonymous Atomstroyexport official told RIA Novosti.
He pointed out that the legal action at the International Court of Arbitration in...

Japanese company Toshiba intends to continue its investments in the construction of a 10 MW solar park near the Southeastern Bulgarian town of Yambol.
Toshiba representatives have confirmed their commitment during a meeting with Yambol's Mayor, Georgi Slavov, the Bulgarian National Radio has informed.
The photovoltaic park will cost EUR 37.6 M and will be able to provide electricity for 2 000 households.
Instead of owning the solar park, Toshiba plans to sell it to local funds and...

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Bulgaria's government debt ratings to Baa2 with a stable outlook from Baa3 in a long-anticipated review.
According to a statement on the website of the international credit rating agency signed by Kristin Lindow, Senior Vice President, Sovereign Risk Group, Moody's Investor Service, the improvement reflects Bulgaria's ongoing fiscal discipline and improving institutional strength as well as the financial system's relative resilience in a volatile...

The euro zone and the rest of the EU should learn from Bulgaria's example as far as strict fiscal stability is concerned, Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has declared in interviews for major global media.
In a series of interviews in London, Djankov has spoken to the CNN, the BBC, Sky News, and Reuters.
Speaking to the BBC World Service, Djankov has declared that in spite of the ongoing difficulties, the euro will become the strongest global currency.
"What we learned from...

Austrian company EVN has approved a capital hike to boost its stake in the Bulgarian hydro power plant project Gorna Arda to 70%.
The takeover of a 70% stake in the vastly troubled Bulgarian hydro power project on the Arda river in the south from Turkish company Ceylan was expected in the first quarter of 2011, but fell through.
The project company for the construction of the 160 MW cascade will be formed with a 70% of EVN and a 30% share of the Bulgarian National Electric Company...

An offshore company, registered on the British Virgin Islands, has acquired the buyer of Bulgaria's biggest steel mill Kremikovtzi amid many question marks surrounding the deal.
"Bessian Management Limited" bought "Eltrade company", owned by 26-year-old Lachezar Varnadzhiev for BGN 20 000, shows a check in the Trade Registry.
"Bessian Management Limited" is in its turn controlled by another offshore company – "Bun Sekretarial Limited", based in Cyprus.
Bulgaria sold in April the...

Sofia has been ranked the most affordable European city for US travelers by TripAdvisor, a travel review website based in Newton.
The firm has based its list on what it calls a TripIndex, which takes into account foreign currency exchange rates, hotel fees, the cost of a pizza, a dry martini, and a taxi ride.
The index shows how much it would cost for an American to spend a day in a particular destination and all destinations are ranked by value.
Sofia has emerged as the cheapest...

Bulgaria will finalize shale gas exploration talks with US Chevron and seal a contract in the next few days, Energy Minister Traicho Traikov has announced.
Traikov participated Tuesday in a discussion on shale gas exploration and production in Bulgaria.
The Energy Minister revealed that auctions for new exploration blocks in North Bulgaria were forthcoming.
In end-May, US energy giant Chevron won a shale gas drilling permit in Novi Pazar, Northeast Bulgaria, with a EUR 30 M bid....

Bulgaria exported arms and munitions worth over EUR 259 M in 2010, according to a Bulgarian government report.
The 2010 of the Inter-institution Commission for Export Control and Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Bulgarian Economy Ministry was adopted by the Cabinet on Wednesday, and will be presented to the Parliament.
It shows that in 2010 the arms commission issued a total of 614 permits, of which 339 were for the exports of arms and transfer of weapons out of...

The foreign direct investment that Bulgaria's post-crisis economy will attract per year will stabilize at about 4%-5% of the GDP, according to a forecast of UniCredit Bulbank.
While in the pre-crisis period – 2002-2008 – Bulgaria's FDI averaged over 17% per year, in the period after the crisis, they will stabilize at about 5% of the GDP, and only on the condition that the business environment in Bulgaria continues to improve at an accelerated pace, the economic team of UniCredit Bulbank...

Bulgaria's Vivacom telco has sold the last 50% of its transmission company NURTS to Bluesat Partners Ltd for an undisclosed fee.
In August 2010, Vivacom sold the other 50% of NURTS to Cyprus-registered Mancelord Limited.
Until now, NURTS was a joint venture between the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, rebranded as Vivacom, and Mancelord Limited.
NURTS is a key player in local terrestila analogue signal destribution, covering nearly all of Bulgaria with its network of radio and...

The Bulgarian cabinet must speed up the administrative reform in helping the small and medium business, according to the Bulgarian EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva.
Georgieva, who is a former high-ranking World Bank official, said this business must be top priority because it is the most flexible and the fastest in creating new jobs.
"This is the right time for the cabinet to seek ways to help, to alleviate...

Bulgaria's government has voted to allocate state budget funds for the construction of Lot 1 and Lot 2 of the southeastern Maritsa Highway before the European Commission has formally approved their EU funding.
The press statement of the Council of Minister does not specify the precise sum that the state budget will pour into the highway.
The EC is expected to give its final approval to the project for the completion of the Maritsa Highway linking Bulgaria's Trakiya Highway and Sofia to...

Italian engineering company D'Appolonia S.p.A. (D'Appolonia) has been appointed as new Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Advisor for the Nabucco Pipeline Project, effective from 1 June 2011.
The main purpose of D´Appolonia's appointment is to ensure the successful completion of an integrated project ESIA, fulfilling the requirements of the International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and complying with national and European legislation, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International...

Moscow could soon freeze temporarily its gas pipeline project "South Stream" and increase gas export to Europe thanks to Germany as a reliable partner.
The information was reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing the Russian daily Kommersant and an unnamed source from the Russian cabinet.
In August 2009, Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an agreement to have the pipeline pass under Turkish Black Sea waters.
In...

Draft legislation approved by the Bulgarian Cabinet on Wednesday is going to allow the Sofia International Airport to determine its own airport fees, a measure that could lead to increase of plane ticket prices.
Sofia Airport will be determining its fees, and will coordinate them with air companies and land operators using its services, the Cabinet-approved legislation stipulates.
At present, the fees of the Bulgarian airports are determined by the Civil Aviation Administration, a...

Bulgaria has completed the first half of 2011 with a budget deficit of 0.9% its GDP, according to latest data from the Finance Ministry.
Thus, in January-June 2011, Bulgaria's deficit on cash basis under the government's Consolidated Fiscal Program amounted to BGN 652.1 M down from BGN 1.514 B in January-June 2010, a decrease by BGN 862.5 M (or 1.3 percentage points) year-on-year.
It is formed by a deficit under the national budget of BGN 455.9 M and a deficit under EU funds of BGN 196.2...

The Bulgarian government has launched the construction of an 8-km section of the Hemus Highway, which is supposed to connect Sofia and Varna through Northern Bulgaria.
The start of the construction was given by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev, and Varna Mayor Kiril Yordanov.
The 8 km section will be an extension in the western direction of the existing eastern section of the Hemus Highway running from Varna to...

Bulgaria's touristic branch expects good results 2011, according to Blagoy Ragin, chair of the country's organization of hotel and restaurant owners.
However, this year's mistakes should be seriously analyzed, he told Darik radio, referring to the several fatal accidents which happened in Bulgarian seaside resorts in the peak of the season.
Most recently, a 13-year-old German girl died in Bulgaria's Black Sea resort Golden Sands after she was sucked in by the pump of a hotel swimming...